Votes purchased this week - GOP.

[bkg]

Supposedly, Graham said 6 GOP votes for Cap-n-Trade already.  

US President Barack Obama is set to announce plans to open huge offshore areas on the US coastline to oil and natural gas drilling.

The move will end a long-standing ban on such drilling along the Atlantic coast, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the north coast of Alaska.

The plan aims to reduce US dependence on foreign oil and generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases.

Environmentalists say the proposal is not worth the environmental risks.

They say there is a relatively little oil to be found in the offshore areas.

Early in his presidency, Mr Obama said US reliance on foreign oil posed a threat.

Outlining his energy priorities, he said the country would not be held "hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes, and a warming planet".

He called for greater fuel efficiency and an "energy economy" aimed at creating millions of jobs.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8596692.stm

[JohnnyReb]

Linky no worky.

One of the first things Obama did when he took office was reinstate the ban on offshore drilling......so now he's buying votes with it....one state at a time.

....and Graham has 3 less votes in the next election.

[bkg]

Linky no worky.

One of the first things Obama did when he took office was reinstate the ban on offshore drilling......so now he's buying votes with it....one state at a time.

....and Graham has 3 less votes in the next election.

Sorry - got broke in the copy. Should be fixed now.

I think this is lip-service to get the votes for Cap-n-Trade. I don't think he's going to allow it to actually happen. Not to mention, he's closing more leases than opening, from what I'm reading.

[lastparker]

I think he's pandering, and at the same time setting up a lot of red states if the enviro's direst predictions come true.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Sorry - got broke in the copy. Should be fixed now.

I think this is lip-service to get the votes for Cap-n-Trade. I don't think he's going to allow it to actually happen. Not to mention, he's closing more leases than opening, from what I'm reading.

I agree with that, the whole thng is far down the road and his own EPA can put many time-consuming obstacles in the way, even before it is officially approved and the real fun begins with Sierra Club, the whale freaks, and all the other squid-huggers in Federal court, it would easily be a decade before the first drill bit for a produciton well hits the sea floor.

On the plus side, the coal state Dem Senators are not with cap'n'trade, though I'm sure there will be monumental bribes to pull them along when the time comes.

[Woodhick]

I agree with the tree-huggers will have this tied up in the court system for years. Here is what they did localy here in the ALleghney National Forest. I know Steve Dyne personaly who is mentioned in this article.

Drillers, environmentalists clash over drilling in the Allegheny National Forest.

Steve Dyne sent a crew to the Allegheny National Forest one February morning to do the routine work that supports his company's $500,000 payroll -- the construction of roads and well pads for oil- and gas-drilling operations.


For decades, Dyne said, contractors like him worked together with the U.S. Forest Service to extract from the forest oil and gas, more than 90 percent of which is owned by private interests.


"In 29 years of working here, if the oil and gas inspector or whoever was in charge had something to say, he came and said it," Dyne said.


But on this morning, when one of Dyne's crews went to build a site for three oil wells that had been planned for months, there was no chance to negotiate.


There was a forest ranger with an order to cease and desist, and with him, two federal law enforcement officers armed with guns, Tasers and bulletproof vests, Dyne said, "like we were criminals."

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090628/NEWS02/306289998/0/NEWS05

[bkg]

The Sierra Club has held up a bridge over the St. Croix for over 10 years. They will definitely keep this in coart and in the EIS process for at least that long. Which is perfect for Obama - he can say "I tried."

[littlelamb]

The Sierra Club has held up a bridge over the St. Croix for over 10 years. They will definitely keep this in coart and in the EIS process for at least that long. Which is perfect for Obama - he can say "I tried."

Everything he does or doesn't do is usually either Bush's fault or it is not his fault I wish he would grow a pair and start doing things instead of screwing up everytime we turn around.